Introduction

The Pentax SMC FA 43mm f/1.9 is another "Limited" lenses made by Pentax.
At around 550€/US$ it is certainly not a budget item especially
for a "normal" lens but in a swamp of budget oriented plastic lenses the
high quality Pentax lens makes a welcome difference. Typical for all FA
lenses it supports the full 35mm format so it can be used both on film
and digital SLRs. On the Pentax K10D its field-of-view is equivalent to
64.5mm so it leaves its original scope as a "normal" lens towards a very
moderate tele.

The build quality of the lens is superb with most parts made of metal.
The tiny focus ring operates very smooth and slightly damped. Typical
for FA-type lenses there's a dedicated aperture ring on the lens.
The lens is/was available in a platinum- and black-colored variant. As
you have surely noticed the platinum version looks a little alien on
the K10D.

The lens has no internal AF motor and relies on a slotted drive screw operated
by the camera. As a result AF operation will generate a moderate degree of noise.
The AF speed is very fast on the K10D.